Bobrovnyk S.M.

NTUU “Kiev Polytechnic University”, Ukraine

CONCEPTS AND ASPECTS OF THE LANGUAGE PICTURE OF THE WORLD

Human language is an immensely many-sided phenomenon. To understand the genuine essence of the language it is necessary to consider different aspects of the language, how it is structured, how the elements of the system are arranged, what reasons influenced it from outer sides and what reasons affected the changes in the language during the process of its historical development which formed its existence and functions which the language acquired in human communication.

It is impossible not to notice the difference how people speak and how they express phenomena using their languages as if they perceive the world differently. This can be explained by different peculiarities such as mentality, the place of living, culture, climate and etc. Phonetic peculiarities can be explained by different climate conditions, but expressing of actions can be explained by difference in mentality and perception of the world and culture. For example, the English like defining actions exactly; they use different tense-forms. They seem to have more verbs than nouns. This propensity of defining actions exactly at different tense-forms cannot be found in other languages, e.g. in Russian or Ukrainian languages.

Before we describe the notion of “the language picture of the world” we should try to define the term “the picture of the world”. The term “the picture of the world” which is used in philosophy, language learning, physics and other subjects is interpreted differently. Edward Sapir, Benjamin Whorf, B.Serebrennikov, H.Herts were the first scientists who studied this notion which firstly appeared in physics at the end of 19th century. This notion was firstly applied to physical picture of the world, and they interpreted this term as the totality of inner images of outer subjects from which it is possible to get information logically concerning the behavior of these subjects. According to E.Sapir and B.Whorf the hypothesis of linguistic relativity is a concept due to which the structure of the language defines the structure of thinking and the way of cognition of the objective reality. This hypothesis was developed by E. Sepir and B.Yorth in 20th century in the USA. Being an ethnograph and linguist, Sepir studied the culture and the languages of the North American Indians tribes. According to this hypothesis the logical frame of thinking is defined by the language. The character of cognition depends on the language which is spoken by the people. The people define the world, organise it into notions and distribute the meaning in that way as if they are the participants of the agreement which has the force only for this language. The pioneering linguist Benjamin Whorf (1897–1941) grasped the relationship between human language and human thinking: how language can shape our innermost thoughts. His basic thesis is that our perception of the world and our ways of thinking about it are deeply influenced by the structure of the languages we speak. Whorf’s ideas about the relation of the language and thoughts have always appealed to the wide audience, but their reception in expert circles has alternated between dismissal and applause. Recently the language sciences have directed to the guidance that gives Whorf’s thinking a renewed relevance. Hence, this new edition of Whorf’s classic work is especially timely. The theory of linguistic relativity confirms that thinking and forming of system notions where comprehension takes place in accordance with the system of the categories of the natural language which is used by the subjects of cognition. According to E.Sapir and B. Whorf the real world mainly is structured on the basis of the language norms of the certain group. In different languages there are different systems of categories and similar physical phenomena which allow creating the simiar picture of the universe only at the resemblance or at least at coorelation of the language systems. In accordance with the linguistic theory of relativity, the type of the language defines not only the forms of behavior of the language group, but in general the type of culture, the type of thinking, i.e. the logic accepted in it. Hense, the peculiar understanding for the European culture of time and dominating of classical logic in it can be explained as a derivative from the type of European languages, as people are under the influence of the certain language which has become the means of communication and expression for the certain community. It could be mistaken to think that we can understand the reality without the help of the language.

As “the real world” mainly is built unconsciously on the basis of the language norms of the certin group. We see and hear and perceive the phenomena due to that fact that the language norms of our society suppose the certain form of expression.

Interpretation of the term “the picture of the world” is stipulated by the specific character of the problem solution of the objective reality’s reflection. There are two approaches. The representatives of the first one are prone to believe that there is no difference between semantic systems of the languages, because the reflection of the objective reality is based on logical principles and categories which are universal by the definition. Consequently, we can define the following statements:

- the language objectively reflects the world;

- all the people exist in the space of the single objective reality forming the single mankind;

- the differences between the cultures that speak different languages have accidental character;

- practice demonstrates that despite the differences between the languages and cultures information can be given adequately;

- the core of the language reflection of the world is composed of logical catergories.

The second approach is based on the hypothesis of linguistic relativity by Sepir and Whorf, Holtz and others. The follwers of this idea consider that the difference between lexical systems of the language is absolute; it defines perception of the world and behavior of the people. The main principles:

- the language subjectively reflects the objective reality;

- all the people exist in the space of different objective reality without forming the single mankind;

- practice demonstrates that despite the differences between the languages and cultures information cannot be given adequately;

- the difference between the cultures of the people who speak different languages have nonrandom character.

Gained experience of the mankind is fixed in the system of language notions mastering of which an individual acquires common human experience in the language. Individuals do not create the word notions, but master the generated historically fixed system of the notions, the defined classification system in the native language. Due to this fact the language can actively affect the process of cognition and human activity.

Language picture of the world is the understanding of the world through the prism of the language, it is a systematized socially meaningful system of the language signs which contains information about the objective world, it is a reflection of the objective reality by means of the definite language. The sense of it can be explained like this. The objective reality is reflexted in our consciousness in notions, and notions are expressed by words. Similarly, a chain is formed: reality – notion – word. In this chain the original is the reality, and the notions and the word are secondary. A word is as a language equivalent of the relevant notion and appears with the notion. Being a conventional symbol of the notion, a word gives an image of the subject, sign, action, and phenomenon.

The content of the notions as a form of cognition of the objective reality is equal for all people, regardless what language they speak, oppositely it would be impossible to translate from one language into another. However, the ways of verbal expression of the notions are not the same in different languages. Different images-symbols can be used for expression of the same notions. Consequently, every nation (ethnos), every lingvo-cultural unity has its own national picture of the world which forms the type of person’s attitude to the world, the nature, other people, to himself as to a member of the society. The national picuture of the world defines the national language picture of the world of the ethnos.

The language is a treasury of the national culture of the people who speak the language. All experience and all achievements of the culture are fixed in the language, they find their reflextion there. The national component can be found in lexics, phraseology, aphorisms, speech ethiket, texts and etc. That is why learing any foreign language it is necessary to take into account one thing: any language has its natonal expression, i.e. it expesses national spirit and national culture of the people. And as the national language is closely connected with national psychology and national originality of the people and it is the mean of the transmission of national traditions, stereotype, habits. Consequently, learning of any foreign language is followed by the learing of a new language picture of the world. To learn the national picture of the world means to understand the perception of the world of the certain people, native speakers, to penetrate into the language consciousness, to understand the outlook of the people who created this language. However, we should use the language as a practical indicator of ethnic mentality very carefully, taking into account the probable character of any gained conclusions and generalization.

1. Уорф Б. Л., Отношение норм поведения и мышления к языку, в кн.: Новое в лингвистике, в. 1, М., 1960.

2. E.Sapir. Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech, Dover Publications, 2004., - 200 p.

3. Whorf B. L., Language, thought and reality, Camb. (Mass.)., 1966.